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Month: February 2018

Well just as the title says, things are off to a good start. Thankfully I managed to lose 1 pound. Now that may not seem like much but let me tell you my resolve was dearly being tested yesterday which was what….my first day of Primal Plan 66.

I had almost forgotten that one of my co-workers had talked me into going with her to see Jeff Dunham. So I said okay and already paid her for the ticket. The only think is that I didn’t realize she wanted to do the rodeo which was the venue where Jeff was performing. So I woke up and rushed around, picking up my truck which just had a new headliner and sun visors installed.

My busy day started with picking up my truck, then taking my mother grocery shopping and the next thing I knew it was starting to rain so I called my friend and asked her if she still wanted to go and she said yes. Unfortunately she wanted to do the whole afternoon at the rodeo. Amazingly I managed to survive the rodeo and the reason I say survive is because I have a slight reaction to some of the critters in the rodeo. Thankfully we didn’t actually go until the evening but since we were sitting up in the nose bleed seats, thank goodness for Jumbotron which is a huge honkin’ screen which allowed us to see what was going on in the area.

So why is it important to mention rodeo, well it was because I was really struggling to stay low on the carb count. My friend had quite an appetite and like most people when it comes to tasting it is a wonderful way to see what you like. I was guilty of doing a taste test of 2 dips but it was what I could taste on a pretzel. I only taste tested 2 dips but then we came across a wine slushy sample. Of course I had to try it. It was good and I bought 2 packages of the stuff you mix it with to make the slushy and also bought a wine slushy and when I give myself a cheat time I will make a wine slushy.

A short time later after spending money, I figured it was time to get something to eat because I last ate at 7:45 a.m. and it was not around 4:00 p.m. So we went in search of food, I hesitated because my friend had just eaten 2 hours prior but she said she was hungry so we went in search of food. Earlier in the afternoon it had been very cold, windy and lightly misting. We went inside the exhibit hall in time because for the next two hours it rained.

Now I don’t know how many of you have been to things like State Fairs, Rodeos, carnivals, etc., but the food is usually fried everything and wonderful tasting and terribly high in carbs. But at that time I didn’t care and then I came across something called the Whole Hog, which was a sausage, pulled pork and bacon all on a 6″ hogie. It was too tempting so I ordered one and asked my friend if she wanted to share some of my tater tots.

OMG the Whole Hog was awesome. I put on a small amount of BBQ sauce since the pulled pork didn’t have any on it and then a touch of ranch dressing because they said the sauce was spicy. Spicy and me are not good friends. When I finally got my tater tots, they put chili and cheese on them because I had to wait too long. We sat down on damp seats because it had been raining off and on the day before and it had rained just 30 minutes ago. We were definitely cold as we sat there and ate, I only ate 1/4 of the tots. I could not even finish the sandwich before I hit the wall, my tummy said I was happy and so I stopped or else my tummy would have made me regret it.

I grabbed a drink of water from a fountain, avoiding sodas and sweetened tea, and went back inside to wash our hands and thankfully the water was very warm. It was a quick way to warm us up.

So we watched the rodeo, scratch that off my bucket list although it was never on my list, from the nose bleed section. We were there before a vendor with beer and water finally came out way. I paid $5 for a 20 oz bottle of water. Yes it is highway robbery but when you’re thirsty it was worth it.

We were supposed to be done by 10:45 p.m. but Jeff went a little long as he introduced a new character and finally the show ended at 11:30 p.m. Well since we got a ride to the rodeo, and my friend thought there was a quick in and out but I showed her no quick way in for her son to pull in and pull out of the area. So we walked about 1/2 mile to my place of business where her son was waiting for her and I managed to reconnect with my phone.

It seems I left my phone in the car. It was hell being without it…not really just a little bit odd. It would have helped pass time while we waited for the show but I survived. So we talked for a while with the overnight shift workers until traffic cleared up. I was happy to be reunited with my phone and then I drove home. I needed a caffeine shot before driving because I ended up walking about 4 miles at the rodeo and I was tired so slammed down a diet coke (yes I know I’m not supposed to have sodas) and went home. I drank at least 32 oz of water and grabbed a strip of bacon and tried to stay awake. I failed and crawled off to bed to try my new bamboo pillow. I can’t say how I slept because exhaustion is a good way to insure I sleep soundly as well as the temperature being cold.

I was a very busy person yesterday and maybe that was why I lost 1 pound. Hey it may not be much but it is a good start.

That’s right, I’ve finally figured out what I’m going to do to try and at least lose some weight before my European vacation. Okay it is not going to be anything like the Chevy Chase movie because I’m not that big of a dunce. I’m smaller in size….LOL.

So you’re probably wondering just what the heck is Primal Plan 66. Well starting tomorrow I will have 66 days until I leave for Europe. Which means all the time I spent procrastinating is really hurting me now time wise and weight wise. Starting tomorrow I will have 66 days to lose what I hope will be at least 15 pounds but my dream loss would be at least 20 pounds. Now I’ve done it before in less time and I didn’t really have any incentive like I do now.

I’m planning on going to one of my Geek convention, more specifically it is Dallas FanExpo. I would like to have to buy at least one pair of pants before the convention and maybe a shirt that will show a weight loss and then it will be time to kick it into high gear as at the end of April I will be leaving.

Ok, I’ll stop blathering on for a bit and tell you that I’ve decided to go Primal again. Because initially I will be trying for some rapid weight loss, I plan to keep my carb count to no more than 50 carbs. I really don’t think that I will be able to keep my Primal diet in tact when I go to the con because: #1 I’ll be with my friends and one is a vegetarian so we have to be careful where we eat with her cause she gets very turned off by things such as sizzling steak or fajitas; #2 at least one of my geeky friends also enjoys a good Guinness beer and we always have a beer together; #3 my eating schedule will really be out of whack so I’m not sure when I will be eating or what has the smallest line of the eating establishments and finally #4 reason is because I will more than likely be on the go trying to get to an event, trying to get in line for photos or autographs or working the concourse with my camera trying to get some good photos.

However, I will do my best to try and stay as close as possible to eating primal. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem for breakfast but who knows what will happen for the rest of the day. It is my biggest hope that by keeping my daily carb intake to 50 carbs that I should have a good enough result so those 4 days will not completely throw me off.

Just in case you were wondering why I decided to go Primal again, well allow me to tell you and even if you weren’t wondering I’ll tell you anyway because it is a reaffirming of my commitment to myself for weight loss. Now where was I…..oh yeah I remember. So why did I choose Primal. Well I like meat, really like meat and I was wise enough weeks before to buy up some NY Strip steaks from Sprouts grocery store, they were very thick so after I cooked them, I cut them in half and then kind of filleted them, then put a slice of real butter on top of steaks and vacuum sealed them and threw them in the freezer. Now I have my meats all ready for me to consume, whether it be at work or at home. I also bought one of those microwave egg cookers and have an awesome breakfast crustless Quiche that I can cook which will have all of the things necessary to make a hearty breakfast.

I am hoping to make an adjustment also to the plan by maybe having a protein shake/smoothie and adding some Chia or Flax seeds to mix. Just in case you were wondering why in the world would I do this, it is because I’ve found that when I normally consume a protein shake it is not very filling or satisfying so this is why I will be probably adding to the protein drink to fill me up. I don’t know if I’ll use it as a snack or as a meal substitute, only time and that day’s carb count will determine if I add anything.

So initially I do the 50 carb count for 21 days what I would like to do is continue the 50 count for the 41 days until my convention; however, I know that I may not be able to hold out that long with a cheat meal or day, again only time will tell. For the majority of the 66 days I plan to stay Primal so I can be in good shape for Europe. If this year’s trip is anything like the trip I did in 2000 then I will hopefully lose weight while on vacation. Yes I plan to enjoy the foods of the countries I will be visiting but last time I lost 20 or 22 pounds in 17 days. I know quite incredible but I guess it had to do with all of that walking.

The weather hasn’t been cooperating so I’ll probably go ride the stationary bike at the work gym and do some light weight lifting for my arms so they will get some strength back into them. I also noticed with doing the weight lifting my CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome) isn’t hurting as much so another incentive to work out besides trying to lose weight.

So now it is time to set Plan 66 into motion. I’m taking today off of the plan because it wasn’t until just a few hours ago I decided which plan I would use.

Some of the candidates had been Ideal Protein, which a friend had tried but you see the government paid for his plan and my employer would only pay for a month on Weight Watchers. The Ideal Protein had me paying $350 for a consultation initial meeting, then another $300 for 2 months of supplements, and only enough food for 1 month. Then I would have to do weekly check-ins with the nurse but the food would average $300 or more per month and that is with them only providing breakfast, snacks and lunch meals with you cooking your dinner meal. I guess that was okay but when I started adding up things I realized this plan was damn expensive. Oh and then there were 3 phases I had to go through and each of them still had me purchasing their food but I would also have to pay to enter the next phase. What?!! So I decided to pass on that plan.

Another candidate had been Shake 18 as well as Slim Fast. With both of these plans they had me substituting my breakfast and lunch meal and then have a very limited calorie dinner, usually under 500 calories. Oh yeah and I would have to also buy their snacks which were very low in calories and usually not the best tasting or there wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me as a snack.

What can I say, I usually am hungry when it comes to snacks. So 3-4 very small cookies won’t usually do nor 10 chips. So maybe eating a piece of bacon or have a fiber packed protein shake will do the trick. I will soon find out.

Okay so now is a day to relax and organize my veggies and go back to my old carb count list that I’ve made up for what I will eat. I almost wish that I would run out and go and grab a pizza because I love the pizza by where I work. It is very tempting but not sure if I’ll just stick with what I brought for lunch or run out for one last splurge.

I would like to lose at least 20 pounds but will settle for 15 before I leave for Europe. So the way I figure it, losing some weight is better than not losing any weight at all and being uncomfortable.

Wow, I just realized that I say ‘So’ a lot, sorry about that folks. Okay I’m now getting psyched to start my Primal Plan 66.

Exactly what I’m wondering, what am I going to do? So you’re asking what I’m talking about, well my trip to Europe. I’ve got 67 days to go and I’m no closer to losing weight than I was before I even bought my tickets.

So I met a co-worker who had retired and he looked great. He had lost according to him, 42 pounds and he had been on a weight loss program since Mid December and it was the middle of February when I saw him. He talked about the plan and said how wonderful it was and then said I should check with my employer because they pay for us to participate in a weight plan if we are morbidly obese. Thankfully I’m not morbidly just moderately obese.

I’ve lost weight and I’ve gained it plus a bit more back, so now I’m wondering what in the heck am I going to do. I was trying Slimvance pills but ran into a problem because I couldn’t remember to take the pill 30 minutes before eating. Now if it was take a pill after I ate then it might be better but odds are against me even remembering what to do after I eat.

Now it would be great if I could just take time off from work and do nothing but focus on my diet and exercise but since I’m sure like all of you, I don’t have the luxury of just focusing on dieting, life keeps on interrupting what I’m doing. Not having to deal with life’s problems would also decrease my stress. Yes I carry a lot of stress with me mainly from my jobs and it tends to stay with me especially since I don’t exercise after work.

I like exercising after work but since I get off at 11p.m. (2300hrs) and by the time I drive to my gym, change clothes and get ready for my workout which only consist of 30 minutes on stationary recumbent bike and maybe lifting a few weights for my upper arm strength, then after stretching (I’ve learned to really do a good stretching routine after working out) it is usually 12:30-12:45 a.m. then I have to drive home. By the time I get home and relax and catch up on mail and other things then shower, it is usually 3 or 4 in the morning. Very hard to decelerate and shut down for sleep so usually I’m still up at 5 or 6 in the morning. Which means I sleep in and that isn’t the best thing to do because I have errands to run.

So what am I going to do because I want to be at least below 200 pounds before I leave for Europe. I won’t even talk about the stress I’m having to worry about with making arrangements for my nightly stays, way too much stress to carry around with me. Sometimes I really miss living by myself, the only thing I was responsible for besides paying my bills, was feeding and walking my dogs. Unfortunately my dogs are gone I have a hard time explaining that I need some time away from the house and everyone. I miss living by myself.

Okay done feeling sorry for myself. Now it is time for me to get busy and think of what I’m going to do because as of tomorrow, it will be 67 days until I leave for UK and start my European vacation. At least then I will get a chance to be by myself. I only managed to do it by saying it was an early birthday gift for myself since I’m having to pay for it all. But I think I will enjoy myself. I only have a partial itinerary for what I want to do.

Okay so now since we’re here talking about my stumbling weight diary, maybe I should get serious about what I’m going to do to lose a little bit of weight. I’m also hoping to lose weight like I did when I last went to Europe. I lost 20 pounds in 17 days mainly because I did a lot of walking.

I plan to be back tomorrow blogging about what I will come up with tonight to get me down to my first goal weight in 67 days. So pardon me for cutting this short but I’ve got some research to do and I hope to be back tomorrow.